Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 38.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,860 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,814 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Fastenal by 99.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after buying an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $44.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.32 and a 200-day moving average of $44.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.90. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 33.14%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.